In an unexpected move, on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, Donald Trump nominated Fox News host Pete Hegseth to oversee the nation's military as the next Defense Secretary at Pentagon.
The nomination created quite a stir among Trump’s supporters and critics. While the supporters welcomed Hegseth's nomination, Trump’s critics, including Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, slammed the decision in a post on X, saying:
“A Fox & Friends weekend co-host is not qualified to be the Secretary of Defense.”
However, in response to the post, several social media users highlighted that Hegseth was an army veteran, which is indeed true. While the 44-year-old Hegseth is largely known for his eight-year stint as a “Fox & Friends Weekend” host, he was also a former Army National Guard major.
Here’s everything we know about Pete Hegseth’s military service and education background.
Pete Hegseth graduated from Princeton University in 2003
Pete Hegseth, who joined the Fox News network as a contributor in 2014, attended Princeton University, where he signed up for Army ROTC on his college campus in the spring of 2001. In doing so, Hegseth committed to a Army National Guard contract, according to Reserve + National Guard Magazine.
After graduating from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2003, Hegseth went through basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, before he was deployed to Guantanamo Bay as a second lieutenant for a year guarding imprisoned terrorists.
Shortly after, Hegseth, now a first lieutenant, volunteered to deploy to Iraq where he served as infantry officer in the Army National Guard. Toward the end of his tour in 2006 he served as civil military operations officer in Samarra.
After returning from Iraq, Hegseth reportedly worked at Wall Street in New York. However, Hegseth told Reserve + National Guard Magazine that he struggled to fit into civilian life after serving in the army. Hegseth told the magazine.
“I went from being in a combat zone to being in an apartment in Manhattan and without any contact other than phone calls here or an email here or there with the guys who I had served with, and it was jarring. I didn’t do much and I drank a lot trying to process what I had been through while dealing with a civilian world that frankly just didn’t seem to care.”
Hegseth reportedly quit Wall Street to join the non-profit organisation Vets for Freedom, which he led from 2007 to 2012 before he volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guard. Hegseth served as a senior counterinsurgency instructor in Kabul, according to his Fox News bio.
After two years in Afghanistan, Hegseth joined Fox News. His network bio also says he has a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Pete Hegseth was in consideration to run Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016
According to the Associated Press, in 2016, Trump considered Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Veterans Affairs. During a recent podcast episode with Shawn Ryan, Pete Hegseth revealed Trump decided against his nomination to run the Department of Veterans Affairs due to his unpopularity with the “veteran groups.”
Hegseth recalled a conversation he had with Trump in 2017 where the president-elect said:
“I wanna pick you, but there's one problem. Why do all the veterans groups hate you? … no, but like they hate you.”
Hegseth reportedly replied saying:
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“Lemme tell you why. Because outside the box, providing private choice for veterans is a complete threat to the ecosystem around the government bureaucracy.”
In 2012, Hegseth as a republican also unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in Minnesota. According to Star Tribune, at the time the 31-year-old Hegseth witdrew from the race as he was one year past the age requirement to run for the office.
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